Technology Application Manager

SUMMARY:
Responsible for the company's systems and applications software portfolio.

POSITION INFO:

One of our clients in the Financial industry has a vacancy available for a Technology Application Manager. The successful candidate will be responsible for the company's systems and applications software portfolio and translating business requirements into functional specifications. Manage a team of ICT specialists who maintain and implement various applications. Drives optimisation and integration across the ICT ecosystem.

Key Performance Areas:

Supporting Technology Strategy & Innovation:

• Participate in the development and implementation of a Technical Implementation strategy and tactical plans aligned with the corporate strategy and goals.
• Lead the development, planning and implementation of a Technology Applications strategy aligned to the functional Technology strategy and Roadmap.
• Deliver an Applications Roadmap aligned with set budgets, resourcing requirements, market, industry, and business trends.
• Provide input to the commercialisation strategy by developing value-added services for both internal and external customers.
• Analyse market trends and identify best practices and opportunities for digitisation and automation.
• Propose forward-looking solutions to unmet and unrealised business needs, positioning the company to innovate and trailblaze in the industry.

Planning and Organisation:

• Monitor performance against the Applications Roadmap to ensure deadlines are met.
• Identify automation opportunities and work with relevant business partners to integrate IoT into existing platforms and solutions for better decision-making and faster incident response.
• Determine whether architectural design meets the business specifications and the digitisation requirements.
• Collaborate with the Technology teams, to identify measures for the successful deployment of applications and systems and quantify the business benefit.
• Compile and present business cases on alternative solutions to existing applications and guide the business in making the right decision.

Execute Analysis & Design Activities:

• Define or assist in defining the specifications and requirements for new product development.
• Participate in the development of applications, throughout the lifecycle, by providing input to the Development team.
• Analyse and report on the quality and performance of technical solutions, highlighting any duplicates or gaps, and their interconnectedness to achieve positive business outcomes.
• Improve business processes through predictive analysis by developing applications that meet current and future needs.
• Compile written motivations and recommendations for the upgrade or replacement of applications to the board for approval.
• Evaluate current business processes or applications to identify gaps and recommend ways to close them using technology or application enhancements.

Technical implementation in own area:

• Guide incident resolution, problem management, maintenance, and enhancement tickets raised by the end users.
• Evaluate and demonstrate the business value of adopting application systems for managing internal processes.
• Manage the application's lifespan once it has been deployed in production and assess its benefits and relevance for the organisation, and the existing applications.
• Give guidance on which applications, systems, and technical solutions are future-proof, versatile, and capable of being adapted to artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Customer Management:

• Maintain SLAs and ensure that they are implemented to meet business objectives.
• Drive decision-making by analysing data and identifying key challenges and opportunities.
• Monitoring the achievement of performance measures with a focus on adding value to the customer.
• Drive engagements on customer and business unit requirements and present performance results to monthly steering committees.

Business Partner Relationship Management:

• Build and maintain good relationships with key stakeholders, both internally and externally.
• Serves as the focal point for communication and collaboration with other teams and vendors regarding changes, fixes, and updates to the system.
• Work with multiple teams across the business and all internal and external stakeholders to effectively manage all systems and applications.

Risk Management:

• Identify risks and threats associated with applications and systems, analyse exposure to those risks or threats, and determine the appropriate action to control and/or minimise them.
• Conduct monthly self-assessments based on defined internal controls, anticipate and document risks, and report on gaps and related mitigation activities to ensure clean audit results.
• Adhere to governance and control requirements for initiating a project and programme.
• Maintain compliance with data management privacy regulations and adherence to POPI Act requirements.

Reporting:

• Prepare weekly, and monthly management reports on the effectiveness of application performance in line with selected Business Unit metrics and requirements.
• Report and manage all system challenges escalations from